Don’t base it on one person

            When investigating a list of schools the question will always arise: Do we know anyone who goes there?

For my top 3, which ended up being a top 2 when I took Kenyon out of the running (just too far and too hard to travel to, though I still think it’s a fabulous school), I had a sibling at one, and knew not a soul at the other.

I eventually found 3 people to contact for my school. I didn’t know any of them directly, but 6 degrees of separation helped.

One of them had a terrible experience. He enjoyed the nightlife a little too much and eventually dropped out because his grades were too low. (Which is funny to me now, because people often complain about the lack of nightlife here).

One of them had a mediocre experience. It was a safe-ish school for her (low match) and though she had a good time and enjoyed it greatly, she didn’t feel super strongly about it.

One absolutely loved it and raved about the school to me. She told me about how happy she was and how wonderful the programs were.

Three people with three very different experiences.

When you’re asking current students about their experiences remember that you’re only seeing one point of view. Their experiences are going to be biased by what they participate in, who their friends are, what their major is, and just their personality in general.

If I have an opinion on something I either love or hate it. So I l.o.v.e. LOVE my school. But when I talk to people I know who are still in high school, I always make sure to remind them that even though I love my school it’s definitely not for everyone. If you can’t handle stress, grade deflation, or being surrounded by nerds all the time, you probably won’t be very happy here. But if you thrive on stress and love some nerdy nerds, it’s great.

So don’t base your opinions of the school on one person’s experience. One person’s trash is another’s treasure.